‘Fantasy & the Occult'

Following the very successful seminars series on J. R. R. Tolkien in 2023 and 2024 (for recordings see: https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/fantasy-literature) we are pleased to announce a new round of presentations by Oxford academics on fantasy literature to run this Michaelmas Term (2025). These talks are aimed at students and members of the public and act as introductions to a range of writers and texts in the field of fantasy literature/weird fiction. The series is organised by the Faculty of English and hosted by Exeter College.

All talks will be held in the Fitzhugh Lecture Theatre, Cohen Quad, Walton Street, Oxford (Exeter College’s annex), and run 1.00-2.00pm. Attendance is free of charge but we ask you to register using the link below:

• Thursday, October 16th (Stuart Lee): ‘H. P. Lovecraft: The Madness and the Horror’
• Thursday, October 23rd (Felix Taylor): ‘Fantasy & the Occult: Charles Williams, Dion Fortune and the Order of the Golden Dawn’
• Thursday, November 6th (Margaret Kean): 'Philip Pullman: Sense of an ending'
• Thursday, November 13th (Mark Atherton & Barbara Fischer): ‘Translating Fantasy: Language, Culture and Mythology — with a Navajo Case study'
• Thursday, November 20th (Michael Ward): ‘C.S. Lewis and the Atmospherics of Fantasy’
• Thursday, November 27th (Carolyne Larrington): ‘Prequels and the Mother-Ship: House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones’